How To Delete A Facebook Account

Topline

Facebook trails fellow Meta-owned social network Instagram for the app Americans want to delete the most, cybersecurity publication VPNOverview reports, citing privacy concerns, so here’s how to deactivate, reactivate and permanently delete a Facebook account.

Facebook allows users to either temporarily deactivate or permanently deleter their profiles. (Photo … [+] by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Key Facts

Though more Americans search to delete Instagram the most, a state-by-state analysis conducted earlier this year by VPNOverview found that Facebook is the top app Americans search to delete in 31 states.

Deactivating a Facebook account removes most of users’ names and photos from posts and prohibits the profile’s visibility—though names will still appear in friends’ Friends Lists and users are allowed to send messages through Facebook Messenger.

Users can reactivate their recently deactivated accounts at any time.

Permanently deleting Facebook removes all content shared by the previous user–including, posts, photos, videos and messages in Facebook Messenger.

Instagram accounts connected to Facebook accounts will not be affected if the Facebook account is deleted or deactivated.

How To Deactivate Or Delete Facebook

On a desktop browser, users should click on their profile picture in the top right corner, navigate to Settings and Privacy, select Settings, and go to the Account Center. In the Account Center, go to Personal Details, navigate to Account ownership and control, select Deactivation or deletion and opt to either temporarily deactivate or permanently delete the Facebook account.

How To Reactivate Facebook

To reactivate a Facebook account after deactivation, all users need to do is log back into their accounts, and this reactivation can occur at any time. There are options for users to have their accounts automatically reactivated after up to a week. Reactivating a Facebook account after deleting it must occur within 30 days with users logging back into their accounts and selecting Cancel Deletion. Otherwise, the account will be permanently deleted after the 30-day grace period.

Contra

Despite Americans’ urge to delete Facebook, Meta recently reported its most profitable quarter since 2021, raking in $32 billion in revenue and the company’s stock seeing its most consecutive gains since going public 11 years ago. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram; 2021 was the year leaders changed the name from Facebook to Meta. Meta also added Threads, a text-based rival to X (formerly Twitter), to its lineup of social networking apps earlier this month.